Lenin was a
Russian revolutionary leader and statesman.
Although he was a lawyer, he came to dislike the
profession.

Lenin especially
detested the class favoritism he observed while
working as a lawyer.

Lenin was well read, had an excellent memory, and
was noted for his incredible energy and
directness.

He was
passionately ruthless and when he spoke things
were crisp and clear. Among the most
disciplined, focused, and ambitious
revolutionaries in history, Lenin definitely
scores in the Top 3.

Picture at Top

Lenin in Gorky, August 1922. Photo:
The Lenin Archive, Marxist.org

Lenin's Name

Lenin was born
Vladimir Ilyich (or Ilich) Ulyanov.

He adopted the
pseudonym Lenin during his underground party
work after his exile in Siberia. The word
Lenin is believed to have been derived from
the Russian river Lena.

Sometimes,
Vladimir signed with N. Lenin. People
filled the gap in their minds and Nikolai, a
common Russian name, was invented.

Lenin's Family

Lenin's father was
Ilya Ulyanov,
a school inspector.

Lenin's mother was Maria
Ulyanova, nee Blank.

Lenin had three sisters and two brothers. His siblings
were Anna,
Alexander,
Olga,
Dmitry, and
Maria.

Lenin and all his siblings became
revolutionaries. His brother Alexander (or
Aleksander, or Aleksandr) was
hanged for his involvement in a conspiracy
against the life of Czar Alexander III in 1886 or 1887. Alexander
III, by the way, was the father of Czar Nicholas II,
the one who got slain by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Lenin's sister
Olga died in 1891.

In 1898, Lenin lived the deportee's dream and married
Nadezhda Krupskaya in Siberia where
both had been in exile at the time. They had no
children. The two had met about seven years ago.

VLADIMIR
I. LENIN IN 1920 The Lenin Archive,
Marxist.org

Early Years

Lenin was born and
grew up in Simbirsk, western Russia.

In 1924 and in
Lenin's honor, Simbirsk was renamed Ulyanovsk.
Today, you are welcome to visit Lenin's
birthplace, to tour his old apartment, and to
marvel at the town's Lenin memorial. See more on
this site.

Back to Lenin's
life.

Because of his
brother Alexander's involvement in the last
Czar's assassination, Lenin was earmarked by the
government. His career options were consequently
limited.

Lenin went to
Kazan University and practiced law in Samara and
St. Petersburg. He became a Marxist and was
exiled to Siberia for his revolutionary
activities.

The Revolution of 1917

After his exile,
Lenin left Russia in 1900.

In the Revolution of 1917
Czar Nicholas II
was replaced by a Provisional Government. In
April 1917, Lenin returned to Petrograd and became the main leader of
the Bolsheviks, later known as the Russian
Communist Party. The Russian word Bolshevik
stands for members of the majority.

Lenin refused to collaborate
with the Provisional Government. He presented
his April Theses,
or Aprelskiye Tezisy if you speak
Russian, his
own revolutionary agenda.

Subsequently, and
only six months after Leninís return to Russia,
the Provisional Government, in turn, was
overthrown by the Bolsheviks.

After the Revolution of 1917

Was Lenin satisfied with the outcome of the
Bolshevik Revolution?

Not quite. But he
considered it a step into the right direction.
Lenin continued to fight for reforms and radical
changes to modernize his country on all levels,
society, politics, economy, culture etc

After the
Revolution of 1917, counterrevolutionary forces gained momentum and
in 1918 the country erupted into a
Civil War,
which was to last until 1920. The
Bolsheviks consolidated their power and set up a
dictatorship by the Communist party.

Land was taken away from private owners and
distributed among the people. Workers were put
in control of factories, traditional religion
was abolished, opposition was ruthlessly
suppressed, and the death penalty became common.

As Chairman of the Council of Peopleís
Commissars, Lenin was the head of the state.

After falling
seriously ill, Lenin dictated his final notes
stating the need for changes within the
government. He also criticized several
government members, Stalin in
particular. Lenin did not
appoint a successor.

After a series of strokes, Lenin died on January
21, 1924.
Aleksey Rykov
succeeded him as Chairman of the Council of
Commissars. Leninís Last Testament was
concealed until 1956.

Lenin Facts

Lenin survived an assassination attempt in
August 1918. In April 1922 one of the bullets
was extracted from his neck.

He was noted for his unemotional rationality.

Lenin advocated extremely cruel revolutionary
measures. He often doubted, however, whether the
Russian character was capable of this. He said,
Soft, too soft is the Russian.